Dance with the Devil
by MothBallz
Summary: "Naruto Uzumaki. Here you sit cold and alone, cast out by your own people. To them you are no better than the dirt they step on. Yet you refuse to lay down and die. How...interesting. I would like to give you a gift, my mark." When Naruto receives a gift the world has not seen for millenia how will this affect the future? True Assassin Naruto. Powerful Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** So I've been watching Cry (Cryaotic) play Dishonored (a game I've personally beat several times), then I watched None Like Joshua's Dubstep Rap and this plot bunny just popped into my head.

Honestly Dishonored is one of the few good games to have come out in recent years. The lore is amazing, gameplay is fun, plot is interesting, characters are all fleshed out, and the powers are badass.

So here's some basics.

Naruto will NOT be visiting the world of Dishonored nor will any of its characters (other than one) be appearing in his world. There will be allusions to Dunwall, Pandyssia, and its characters (A LOT of that) but nothing from that world will be coming over…per se.

Naruto won't be TOO ooc, but will have some characteristics from Corvo Attano. He will be a true assassin/shinobi and by that I mean he won't be doing anything flashy to attract attention to him or his skills unless absolutely necessary. His jutsu repertoire will thusly be pretty small, only a tad larger than canon.

All in all this Naruto will be closer to canon than anything I've previously done but that doesn't mean he will be naïve or dumb. Naruto will be intelligent (not a genius but smart), very strong, and well you'll see when you read the story!

Pairing. I honestly don't have any clue on this one. It's more than likely not going to be a harem, and if so no more than 2 or 3 girls; IF that.

Right now I'm thinking Kurenai, Karin, Mei, or Anko. Willing to hear you out so if you got ideas PM me! I'll probably end up posting a poll on my profile when I have a more solid list (second or third chapter).

If you've not played the game fret not, only the lore of the game is really being borrowed. I will be explaining a lot of it, and even hint at what happened in the game too so don't worry about that.

Enough of my yammering!

Curtains up!

* * *

Winter in Konoha was filled with heavy rainfall and cold chills visiting the normally sunny and warm village. During a particularly heavy rain storm we find a small blonde child shivering, covered only by what could be considered rags, as they were too torn to be actual clothing.

This particular child was Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki to the legendary Bijuu the Kyuubi no Kitsune and child of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki; not that the child knew any of that, nor did he really care.

He had spent many a night and waking hour wondering who his parents were and why they had left him. However he soon realized that no one would answer that question and the time he spent brooding over such things was time he could've spent scrounging up some food or finding a place to sleep for the night.

The child was only six years of age, but mentally he was already in his teens, being forced to grow up at an accelerated rate to survive the harsh life of being both an orphan and pariah to his home village.

He had also spent many hours pondering why his own people looked at him with such looks of disdain and why they treated him as if he didn't exist, like he was no better than the dirt they stepped on.

But he had come to the same conclusion that he had about his parents. No one would answer his questions and that was time wasted. Time better spent surviving.

Tonight though his mind was occupied by thoughts of how he was going to make it through this particular storm. Previous winters were spent under the roof of the orphanage but during fall, on his birthday actually, the matron at the orphanage had seen fit to oust him from their care, leaving him to fend for himself on the streets.

This was nothing new to him. The only time he was actually at the orphanage was when he was sleeping. Otherwise he was out on the streets doing whatever caught his fancy at the moment.

However winter came and he was left without a solid roof over his head to keep him from getting soaked to the bone. He wasn't too worried about getting sick as, for some odd reason, he had never once caught any kind of sickness. When the children at the orphanage would be over taken by bouts of fever or chicken pox he was always healthy, never even having a runny nose.

That was the garden variety sickness though. He had no idea how well his body would do being soaked to the bone by freezing cold water that felt like needles stabbing into his skin and being exposed to the chilling winds of this particular storm.

In an effort to give himself some shelter he had run into the forest that occupied a vast chunk of land in the middle of Konoha.

And so it was here - shivering, cold, and hidden in a hollowed tree trunk - that Naruto let his thoughts wander to his treatment at the hands of the villagers and his parents, in an effort to keep his mind off of the bleakness of his situation.

A flash of thunder interrupted said thoughts.

"Interesting. Cast out by your own people. Treated worse than the dirt they step on and abandoned by the two people who gave you life, yet you persevere. You refuse to lay down and die, determined to continue living," came a raspy yet smooth voice.

Naruto turned his gaze to the entrance of the tree where the voice was coming from. There, literally floating above the ground, arms crossed, and cloaked in an inky black aura was a man dressed in a fine black suit. The man's hair was a short greasy black, and the man himself looked rather intimidating. What both scared and enamored Naruto were the man's eyes.

There was no pupil, just two pools of what seemed to be never ending darkness, not unlike the darkness that shrouded the man.

"You interest me Naruto Uzumaki," came the man's voice again.

Naruto was surprised at hearing his name and expressed such, "How do you know my name?"

"The same way I know the name of your Hokage, of all your Hokages. The same way I know the name of the woman who kicked you out of the orphanage," the man replied vaguely.

"Who…who are you?" asked a slightly frightened Naruto.

The vibe this man was giving off was not at all welcoming. In fact his entire being had been screaming at him to run as far away from him as possible the instant Naruto saw him.

"My name has long since been lost by your people. Where I once had hundreds who worshipped me, I have since been replaced by those you call kami. But when I was worshipped they called me….The Outsider."

"What do you want from me?" Naruto asked desperate to get away from this Outsider.

"Like I said you interest me Naruto Uzumaki. I can see the paths of every man, woman, and child and the decisions that will lead up to those paths. Yet when I look at you….from you come so many different paths and because of you so many other paths and destinies will be changed," was the Outsider's monotone reply.

"What does that even mean? And what does it have to do with you?" Naruto shakily asked.

"Simple, I wish to give you a gift. A gift that has not been seen by your world for several millennia. Use my gift as you see fit. Find the ruins of my shrines spread across the land and sea. Find the runes and charms bearing my mark, and with them do as you please. I can not wait to see what you will do with them," The Outsider finished.

Before Naruto could even blink or say anything else he felt a searing pain burn into his left hand. It felt as if someone had taken a branding iron and pressed it to the back of his hand. In the face of such pain Naruto did the only thing he could think to do, curl into the fetal position and clutch his burning hand.

When the pain finally ended after a few seconds Naruto gazed at his hand and there sat what looked to be a tattoo of some sort. A series of black markings made up some sort of intricate symbol on his hand. For the briefest of moments a voice echoed in his head,

_The Outsider's Brand…(1)_

Deep within the confines of Naruto's soul a massive beast stirred from its slumber. Enormous glowing crimson eyes opened and were greeted by the sight of the same mark on Naruto's hand now present covering the large wall across from its cage.

The crimson eyes narrowed.

"_**It seems that The Outsider has seen fit to grace the world with his mark once more. I wonder what my jailer will do with this new…addition. Hmm. Things have become even more…interesting…"**_

* * *

It was several years later that we find a chuckling Naruto running from a flock of chunin. He had decided that the Hokage's tower could use a nice makeover and so had painted several…"murals" on the outer walls of the massive tower. How he was able to do so in broad daylight no one could guess.

In fact that wasn't the only instance of such happenings where the blonde was concerned. For the last two years Naruto had been able to pull stunts that left even the Hokage stunned.

The young boy was capable of out running and out lasting most seasoned Anbu and the one time the Hokage had decided to join the hunt for the mischievous Uzumaki not even he could catch the blonde. Not due to Naruto's speed, in fact the Hokage had actually cornered the blonde and had been prepared to give the boy a lecture about his pranking only to be cut off before he could even begin said lecture.

The Hokage had seen Naruto literally vanish from his spot against the wall only to appear several feet behind the Hokage.

What had shocked Hiruzen was that he saw the boy had done so consciously. He had seen Naruto clench his fist, a light blue glow surrounding the fist. When he opened the fist, it pointed in the direction he was going, Naruto had blurred from sight. What was even more shocking to Hiruzen was what had happened between Naruto's seemingly instant teleportation; a trail of light blue had followed the young blonde.

For the briefest of moments Sarutobi Hiruzen had sworn he could see a ghostly image of the Yondaime hover above the grinning Naruto.

That had been the only time anyone had actually seen the boy use the skill. Hiruzen knew that Naruto was using it to help him pull his pranks but no one could actually see him doing so, only that he would seemingly disappear from sight for the briefest of moments.

Naruto soon displayed several other surprising skills. Whenever he was cornered a swarm of rats would seemingly appear from nowhere and begin to bite and scratch at those who had cornered the boy. Using that distraction Naruto was free to flee from the sight. Using his crystal ball the Sandaime had also seen Naruto conversing with the rats like the Inuzuka did with their dogs.

Then there was Naruto's uncanny ability to know who and what was around him, even in the darkest of night. Hiruzen had seen the ability firsthand when he was watching the Jinchuuriki with his crystal ball. He saw Naruto stalking through the Hyuuga compound at midnight one night. Had it been anyone else Hiruzen would've called the Anbu but seeing Naruto was carrying several cans of paint let him know what the blonde was doing.

However what caught his eye was when Naruto would avoid the guard patrols. It looked nothing like he had memorized their paths, as they had none, and was actually able to see where they were instead. That was nigh impossible as Naruto was doing so while under the veil of night and while looking through walls. If Hiruzen didn't know better he would say that Naruto had the Byakugan or that Naruto was a damn good sensor.

All of this was just not adding up for Hiruzen. The things Naruto was doing were things exclusive either to high level jutsu or kekkai genkai, both of which Hiruzen was sure were out of reach to Naruto.

That's why the once chuckling Naruto was now staring down his Hokage. The chunin had yet to catch up and Hiruzen knew that if Naruto had anything to say about it neither would he.

"Naruto-kun I need to talk to you about something, and no you're not in trouble, so please come to my office," was all Hiruzen said before shunshin'g back to his office.

Naruto shrugged before he leapt to the nearest roof and waited. Soon the chunin that were tailing him stopped on the roof below him and were about to leap up and catch him at last.

Before they could do so though, Naruto clenched his fist a familiar blue glow surrounding it, the mark on the back of his hand glowing a bright white. He thrust the limb out and opened his fist before he vanished from the sight of the chunin. To their surprise his appeared behind them, several roofs between them.

Naruto smirked and uttered one word, **"Blink."**

He then leapt off back towards the Hokage tower. The chunin all slumped to the floor, too tired to even try and chase after the stamina demon.

* * *

Hiruzen was actually mildly surprised when Naruto opened the door to his office camly and sat himself in the chair across from him. Usually the boy barged in like he owned the place or used that ability of his to appear in the office, which had almost given the Sandaime a heart attack the first time he had done it.

"So what'd you wanna talk about jiji?" Naruto asked.

"Well how are you-," was as far as Hiruzen got before Naruto interrupted him.

"C'mon jiji you and I both know that's not why you asked me to come here."

Sarutobi only sighed before his eyes took a steely glint to them.

"Naruto you have been displaying several abilities that I have only seen be used by nin many years your senior or those gifted by a kekkai genkai. I am wondering how it is you are capable of such feats."

Naruto looked the man in the eye, which was quite a feat for one so young. Shinobi many times more powerful would often look away from the gaze of the man known as the Kami no Shinobi.

Naruto though was…different from them.

And so it was Naruto began to talk, "I was given a…gift by a man several years ago."

Here Naruto lifted up his hand and showed the aging Hokage the symbol that had been etched into his skin when he was but a boy.

Hiruzen was by no means a seals master, but that didn't mean he wasn't well versed in the art. In fact the only people alive who could best him were his own two students, Orochimaru and Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Even still not even he could begin to fathom just what the mark on Naruto's hand was. It obviously held some form of power, but what power and how it worked were a complete mystery to Hiruzen.

"The gift he gave me is what is allowing me to do all of those things. I don't quite understand how it or the techniques work, all I do know is what I can do with them," Naruto explained.

"And who was this…man who gave you that mark?"

"I don't know his real name or where he came from. I only know that he has existed since before even the Rikudou and that the people who worshipped him called him The Outsider."

Hiruzen was shocked by this revelation. He of course knew who the Rikudou was, and despite many these days believing him to be naught but a myth, Sarutobi knew that the famed creator of the Shinobi way had indeed existed. But that had been hundreds upon hundreds of years ago and anything from that time was difficult to find. For Naruto to claim that the man who had given him these powers had existed even before that time was astonishing.

The fact that this man had worshippers though struck a chord in Hiruzen. The only thing this man could be is some type of god.

"And what were his stipulations upon giving these powers to you? And why did you in the first place?" Hiruzen asked.

"He didn't give me any stipulations at all. He said to use them as I see fit. As for why me? Well he said that I 'interested' him," Naruto shrugged.

"Has he come to you since he gave you those powers?"

"Only once, a year after I was given them. He came to tell me what basic powers I had revieced from him and that if I wanted to make the powers stronger or gain new ones that I should look for things called Runes and Bone Charms."

Hiruzen leaned back into his seat, his gaze still on the mark on Naruto's hand.

"I see. And what pray tell exactly are those powers?"

"Well I showed you probably my most useful one, the one where I teleport. It's called Blink. I know that it has a certain range right now and is limited by what my eyes can see, meaning I can't pass through solid objects with it," Naruto explained.

_Hmm so it is in theory a very limited version of the Hiraishin, nonetheless it is a useful skill._

"The Outsider said that if I improved it by finding a Rune that the range would become farther and the amount of chakra I use would also lower, but even the basic version takes less than it does to perform a Henge."

_So with that Rune he could essentially recreate the Hiraishin to a degree…_

"And what other abilities do you have?" Hiruzen continued.

"Well it's not really an ability so much as it is a gift, but I can communicate with rats and ask for their help. Again though with a few Runes the Outsider said I would be able to summon a swarm of special kind of rats known as Plague Rats."

"What is special about these 'plague' rats?" Hiruzen asked curiously. The skill sounded an awful like a summoning contract.

"The Outsider showed them to me and well…they're bigger, much bigger, than normal rats. Other than that?...they're carnivorous and can strip a man of his flesh and leave nothing, only blood stains as evidence in less than a minute…" Naruto said uncomfortably.

The memory of what the Rats had done to a bandit had been forever etched into his mind. The things had devoured the poor bastard alive and ate the corpse in almost a minute flat.

Hiruzen was equally disturbed by the thought of dying in such a horrid manner. He had lived long enough to see some grizzly deaths but that was definitely something he hadn't seen and never wanted to.

After swallowing Hiruzen nodded, "Anything else?"

"One last one yeah. It's called Dark Eyes and lets me see through walls and even the sounds I make and if others can hear them as well."

Hiruzen was floored by this. It was almost exactly like the Byakugan, except exchanging the 360 degree view for being able to see sound waves, which any shinobi would kill for.

"Again I can upgrade that to Dark Vision which expands my seeing range, allows me to see chakra, making it easier to spot shinobi in a crowd, and reduces the amount of chakra the ability uses."

By this point even Sarutobi was getting jealous of Naruto. This Dark Vision essentially combined the most useful attributes of both the Byakugan and Sharingan. It was the perfect tool for a shinobi, and with the abilities needing as much chakra as a Henge Naruto could essentially become the Nidaime Kuroii Senkou with the kekkai genkai of both the Hyuuga and Sharingan.

There had to be some sort of downside to it all though.

"Is there any downside to any of these abilities?" Hiruzen asked.

"Well Dark Eyes and Dark Vision don't really increase how far I can see, and because of the change of color I have to pay more attention to my surroundings due to some things blending in with each other. Also it kind of hinders me in big open spaces," Naruto confessed whilst pouting, mad that his awesome eyes had some pretty big flaws.

Hiruzen nodded his head. Everything had an upside and downside.

"And what of that Blink ability?"

Naruto sighed, "Well I can't really chain Blink one right after the other, doing so actually takes more energy out of me. Right now I can only chain maybe 3 or 4 Blinks before I start feeling tired. If I don't chain there's about a three second wait for me to rebuild the lost chakra. If I do it that way I can Blink almost endlessly."

_Hmm so he really can't recreate the Hiraishin using this Blink ability. Minato was able to jump hundreds of times within a second without worrying about becoming tired. With that upgrade though he could still come pretty close to it._

Hiruzen then turned his chair so that it faced the window and rose to his feet, lost in thought.

_These abilities are indeed a boon to Naruto but they also cause somewhat of a problem. While Naruto would be perfect for assassination and espionage he would be near useless in a team. I doubt he can Blink with other people as I'm sure that mark on his hand has something to do with it. _

_On top of that regardless of his massive reserves he has become adept at using smaller bursts of chakra and hiding himself. He would still be a great ninjutsu specialist but that would essentially waste his new gifts as they have no place on wide scale front line battles._

_But that makes the Academy all but useless to him. We would be wasting his talents by putting him on a three man cell with an instructor._

_He's much too young and inexperienced to be directly placed in Anbu which is where he would shine. What to do…_

Hiruzen rubbed his beard in thought. What would happen to Naruto? He was still a jinchuuriki and thusly could not be cast aside, and now with these gifts he was even more useful to Konoha as a shinobi, but their regular shinobi corps was just not for him.

Suddenly a grin spread across Hiruzen's face as a thought occurred to him.

_Yes that's perfect. I'll be able to make up for my lack of action in Naruto's life while also ensuring he is capable of defending both himself and Konoha._

With that thought in mind the Sandaime turned to Naruto, "Naruto my boy. How would you like to receive some extra training?"

Naruto grinned, "That'd be awesome jiji! But what would happen after my training? And what about the Academy?"

"Do not worry about that, you won't be attending the Academy after today. And if you are successful at the end of your training you will become the first ever Royal Guard. You will be my right hand Naruto and as such will receive only missions I give you while also protecting me from the shadows. You will become the Konoha no Kage (Shadow of the Hidden Leaf)."

"I'll ace your training jiji! I guess you can say I'll be becoming a Kage in a different way though huh?" Naruto asked while chuckling.

Hiruzen only smiled, "Indeed you will Naruto. Indeed you will."

* * *

That night Naruto fell asleep on his bed with a huge grin on his face, excited for the next day's events.

However he awoke to a place that he had become somewhat familiar with. It was the home of the Outsider, known simply as The Void.

It was an endless swirling mass of purple with what looked to be whales in the distance. There was seemingly no gravity as chunks of land floated in odd positions here and there. There was also ruins of what looked like some highly advanced civilization left here, actually of several different civilizations.

There were even pieces of what looked to be Konoha floating here and there in the abyss.

Naruto had asked what this place was and the Outsider had answered that, "It is the place where all things begin and where all things shall end."

When the Outsider emerged from the inky black aura that Naruto was all too familiar with the blonde merely turned his gaze on the being.

"You surprise me yet again Naruto. You knowingly show your whole hand to a man who still hides several cards from you. And why? To feel needed? Do you think that by doing what he asks of you that you will finally gain the acknowledgment you've sought your entire life?"

Naruto remained silent, knowing that The Outsider did not expect him to answer those questions.

"While Hiruzen Sarutobi appears as a kindly grandfather figure he is a man entrenched in lies, secrets, and failures so dark that they may well consume him. His hands are drenched in the blood of both the guilty and innocent. And yet you chose to reveal to him the truth. How…interesting of you Naruto."

Once the Outsider had said his peace he retreated back into the blackness that surrounded him and left Naruto to fall into a dreamless sleep, the grin on his face now gone.

* * *

**AN: **(1) - It's literally the mark of the Outsider. I really can not find a way to describe the damn thing so just go look it up yea?

And that's that guys! Hope you enjoyed that little thing. Bit of an intro into the whole setup of the story and already what some of Naruto is capable of, though not giving away a lot. Some of the lore is being explained as well so hope you guys enjoyed that.

Also if you're wondering, yes the Outsider will be playing a rather large role in Naruto's development and will be somewhat important to the story.

Now I have some questions for you.

Should The Outsider give anyone else his mark? And if so who?

Note Naruto will not instantly be godlike but he will be pretty damn strong, so yes people like Kakashi, Pein, etc. will still give him some trouble in open combat. In terms of espionage and assassination though? He will have no equal as there are very few TRUE assassins in the Shinobi world.

That's about all I've got to say so pm me, review, share, and all that other good stuff!

Till next chapter!

Peace out


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Let's answer some reviews!

First off to the odd flame/critique from NoOneInParticular17: yes you're right most of the powers pale in comparison to the stuff in the shinobi world, I even stated as much. So go back and read a little more carefully yea? As for the whole betrayal thing. Who said Naruto was going to end up betrayed? Not even close to what I got planned. And you not liking it in the game…dude…how could you not? That was literally the central theme of the whole damn plot. For gods sake their motto was "Revenge solves everything".

Onto other reviews!

Sasuke will NOT be getting the mark. Kishimoto overpowered that fucker already, I'm not gonna do the same. If anyone would be getting the mark I was thinking maybe Danzo (fits perfectly), or maybe the other Jinchuuriki? Who knows maybe no one will be getting it.

As for Naruto spilling the beans. His main characteristic has always been seeking attention, wanting to feel needed. The Outsider even spelled that out. So yes it was a bad mistake on his part but vital for the plot and you'll see what I mean this chapter.

On the topic of him being loyal. The villagers never outright beat him or anything like other fics portray. Sure they ignored him (which is still pretty fucking horrible for a child, especially an orphan) but they didn't do much else so Naruto has no real reason to hate them or the village.

Him and Corvo are similar in that. Despite numerous betrayals and backstabbings they both kept coming back and for what? Because of precious people – dead and alive - (Emily in Corvo's case, lord knows we all know she's his daughter. For Naruto it was a collection of people).

Naruto and powers. No he won't be limited to just Blink and Dark Eyes, far from it. He also won't be limited to just powers Corvo had. Dark Vision is actually a mixture I made combining Dark Eyes and Daud's Void Vision. The reason for that will come up on soon. So Naruto will be getting a mixture of powers available to both Daud and Corvo, both active and passive. Though Vitality and Blood Rage are redundant with Naruto being a jinchuuriki.

And the pairing! Now that I put some thought into it I'm thinking of having it be Yakumo (I like her and think she got the short end, besides ultimate stealth and assassination couple right there), Ino (the assassin and the interrogator?), Yugao (perfect Assassin combo but with an older woman), or Tayuya (…its Tayuya need I say more?). Let me know what ya'll think!

Story time!

* * *

Naruto awoke that morning an hour and a half before the sun would even start to rise. The Hokage had told him the night prior that today was the day he was going to be starting his training and for Naruto to take on the mantle of Royal Guard he would have to be strong, stronger than most Anbu. For that to happen he would have to train for as long as he could and with Naruto's amount of stamina that was quite a lot of hours.

Naruto rose from his bed and began his morning rituals, a light workout of a dozen pushups, sit-ups, and pull ups to get the blood flowing followed by a shower and brushing his teeth.

Following that he sat down to enjoy a few cups of ramen, the only thing he could really afford with the stipend he got from being a ward of the village.

When Naruto walked out of his small apartment the street lights were still on and the sky had begun to take on a dark purple hue, an odd time when the moon was out yet had begun its journey out of sight with the sun arising to take its place. Naruto inhaled, taking in the brisk air of the early morning and enjoyed the small moment before leaping off to the roof adjacent from the balcony of his apartment complex.

An odd thought occurred to him as he journeyed across the rooftops of his home village.

_Today…everything changes. Even if I don't succeed and take the title of Royal Guard I'm still likely to be placed in the shinobi ranks. I won't be just some civilian anymore. I'll be a protector of this village. From today on my duty will be to protect this village and its people to the best of my abilities…I won't fail 'tebayo!_

And so with a renewed vigor and a grin on his face Naruto picked up the pace, eager to begin his training.

* * *

"For the next year I will be personally overseeing your training. For obvious reasons I can not be with you all day and during the times I am not I will leave you with something to work on or study. At the end of every other week we will have a test of sorts to see how your training goes," Hiruzen lectured to the blonde Uzumaki.

"Aww c'mon jiji, tests? Do we really need some test to measure how awesome I am?" Naruto pouted.

Hiruzen chuckled at the childish display, "Don't worry about them too much Naruto-kun. They won't be tests like the ones you had back in the academy. Instead they will be a lot more practical and pertain to the things you will be trained in."

Naruto perked up at that statement, "By the way jiji what exactly will I be training in? Will I be able to spit fire like the Uchiha used to!?"

Again the Sandaime found himself chuckling at the blonde he saw as a grandson.

"Unfortunately I don't think such a skill will be helpful in your future position, so for now jutsu are out. Instead what I will be teaching you is battle tactics, planning, the basic academy jutsu, physical conditioning, and chakra control."

Naruto was once again pouting, mad at the prospect of not being taught how to use such a devastating technique. Nonetheless he could see what the Hokage meant by such jutsu not really being vital to any job he would have as Royal Guard. Besides it was the Hokage himself who was going to be teaching him for a year which was something only the legendary Sanin could say. As such he acquiesced to his new sensei's lesson plan.

"There is however one jutsu that I will be teaching you that will be an invaluable asset to not only your future position, but your training as well. Normally this technique would not be available to you unless you reached Anbu position and got permission from me to learn it, but seeing that you're a….special case I will be personally teaching it to you," Hiruzen said with a grin.

"Is it some awesome, super cool Hokage technique!?" An excited Naruto asked.

"Something like that yes. It is called…the Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

Naruto looked confusedly at the Sandaime.

"A different type of clone jutsu? What's so special about it?"

"You'll see very soon my boy."

* * *

A half hour later found the Sandaime gazing proudly at two madly grinning Naruto's.

_The boy may take after his mother in terms of personality and mannerisms, but he does indeed have his father's looks and genius. He learned a B-rank kinjutsu faster than any experienced veteran; put my record to shame too, _Hiruzen thought as he puffed on his pipe.

"So what's so special about this bunshin jiji?" Naruto called out.

The elderly kage merely beckoned the clone over to him where he then whispered something the real Naruto couldn't hear. Once he was done the Kage bopped the doppelganger on the head where it then disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

As Naruto opened his mouth to question the old man, he froze, realizing what had just happened.

"They transfer their memories back to the original?" a wide eyed Naruto asked.

Without a word the Sandaime merely grinned and nodded his head.

"That is so awesome 'tebayo!" Naruto yelled out excitedly. Realization then dawned on the blonde as he took in what the Sandaime had told his clone.

"I'm gonna be learning ninjutsu next year too?"

Again the Sandaime nodded, "Yes, along with taijutsu, assassination, espionage, and trap setting, though I think you may be better at that aspect than even our village's best," the elderly kage ended while chuckling.

"Before any of that I think it's about time to get started on what I will be teaching you. First make five clones."

Naruto nodded, his face set into one of pure determination. Doing the now memorized hand sign for the Kage Bunshin, 5 puffs of smoke appeared revealing several more blondes.

"Now one of you will be reading this text called 'The Art of War', another of you will be reading this scroll on basic chakra control techniques, the third one of you will be playing a game of Shogi with one of my own clones, the fourth will be reading this scroll on the basic academy three with the help of the last clone. You yourself Naruto will be coming with me to get your body into shape."

"You got it jiji! I won't let you down 'tebayo!"

"I don't doubt that my boy, not at all…"

And that's how it went for several months. One clone would spend it's time reading some text or other covering historic battles, basic battle strategies, and the philosophies of various well known nin. Another clone would focus on chakra control whilst another clone was either playing a game of shogi against the Hokage's clone or debating on some political matter. The last two clones were mastering the basic academy three so that Naruto would no longer need hand signs to use them.

Naruto himself was running himself ragged. If he wasn't doing some sort of physical exercise he was working on using the abilities The Outsider had gifted him with. He wasn't able to make them any stronger or less draining without the help of the Runes or Bone Charms but he had been able to reduce the amount of time he needed to use them. Before it had taken a bit of concentration and forethought for Naruto to Blink but he could now do it with but a swing of his marked hand, the thought of it being as second nature as walking was. Dark Eyes could be turned on with, literally, the blink of an eye.

That had lead to an interesting observation on the Sandaime's part. He was thoroughly worried when he witnessed Naruto using the Dark Eyes in person. It turned out that when Dark Eyes was being used Naruto's normally sapphire blue eyes turned into pools of pitch black, not unlike the eyes of The Outsider himself.

After that revelation Naruto was told by the Sandaime to make sure that when he used the eyes to make sure no one could see his eyes being changed. Naruto had of course asked why, telling the elderly kage that they could pass it off as a new kekkai genkai. His eyes were quite disturbing yes but so were the eyes of the Hyuuga and Uchiha when they used their own doujutsu.

The Hokage had then told Naruto that due to the nature of his eyes and how frightening his eyes looked there would be questions asked, questions that shouldn't be asked in the first place. He had then told his blonde student that he would tell Naruto the answers to those questions at the end of their training together, when the boy would be a little more mature and able to handle the answers.

The elderly Kage held true to his word.

After the Sandaime had personally tested the young Uzumaki, making sure he was adept at picking apart enemy strategies, could easily water walk, plan his own strategies, and run several obstacle courses made for Anbu members Hiruzen sat Naruto down in his office, the privacy seals that covered the Kage's office being activated. And so he told Naruto everything; who his parents were, his status as a Jinchuuriki, and even the law he had made regarding said status.

For a few minutes the blonde had sat there, not moving and not speaking. It worried the Sandaime that Naruto would react badly and hate his own parents, which honestly was somewhat justifiable for what they had done to him. But the Sandaime was happy to see that Naruto merely gave him a determined look and said, "I'll make them proud and I will do what they wanted me to, protect this village and its people."

When asked about how he felt about his parent's Naruto replied honestly, "I don't like what they did, far from it, but I can also see why they did it. I may never have the chance to know the warmth of a mother's love or anything, but I will make sure that no one in this village has to suffer what I suffered through."

The Sandaime further asked about how the blonde felt about being a Jinchuuriki and how he felt about how the villagers had treated him. Again the old man was surprised at the answer.

"I can see why they ignored me. I'm a living reminder of what they lost that day. I can't say that I forgive them for that either though. I was just as much a victim as they were but no sense in crying over spilled milk. Just because they can't move on doesn't mean I won't."

The Sandaime smiled at the response, happily surprised by just how mature Naruto had grown to be.

Today however was different for Naruto. Where normally he would be starting his usual training routine the Hokage had told him to meet at training ground 7 to meet his new teachers for the coming months.

When Naruto arrived at training ground 7 he saw what had to be one of the motliest looking groups of people. he'd ever seen. None of them looked bad at all in their state of dress or anything but it was more like they looked like they weren't even from the same village and did not belong in the same group.

The first one to catch his attention, aside from the Hokage, was a tall man with striking silver hair that seemed to pay no heed to the laws of gravity. A mask covered the bottom part of his face while he wore his headband crooked, covering his right eye. He wore the standard jounin outfit of Konoha.

Next to him was an equally tall man who was…odd to the say the least. The man was wearing an extremely tight green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers and the jounin flak vest. The man's bowl hair cut and bushy eyebrows creeped Naruto out.

Next to the two men were two females who looked to be good friends, if the way they were talking was anything to go by. However the two seemed to be complete and total opposites in every way.

The woman on the left, a purplette, wore tan trench coat over an equally tan, but short, skirt and mesh shirt….and that was it. That was all the woman had on in the way of clothes. Sure she had leg guards and shinobi sandals but those were minor compared to the flashy style of clothing she wore. The fact that the woman was actually attractive with generous curves in the right places just helped the sex appeal she seemed to ooze.

The purplette's friend on the other hand was more refined. Where her friend was sexy she was beautiful. Some type of bandages wrapped around her body, hiding her curves from sight yet still leaving her legs and arms bare for all to see. Her friend looked to be happy showing off her curves, but she instead showed enough to catch people's attention yet covered enough to leave them asking for more. Her wine red eyes and curly black tresses only complimented all of that.

When Naruto fully walked into the training ground, catching everyone's attention, the Hokage nodded at him.

"Good morning Naruto-kun."

Naruto bowed, "Good morning Sandaime-sama."

The Hokage had seen fit to teach Naruto some manners and how to behave in front of politicians and the like. It was pretty much mandatory for his position. Since the Sandaime also wanted to keep Naruto's identity hidden when he did take up the mantle of Royal Guard having the blonde go around calling him jiji was counter-productive.

"Naruto-kun meet your teachers for the next couple of months," Here the Hokage stopped to extend his hand towards the silver haired man. "Kakashi Hatake is one our best nin in the village and is a ninjutsu specialist second only to myself. He is also one of our best assassins having been in Anbu for many years."

The silver haired man nodded his head at Naruto, the blonde returning the gesture.

"Next to him his Maito Gai, our village's best taijutsu expert and master of several styles, his most famous being the Goken (Strong Fist)."

The now named Gai gave a thumbs up and cheesy smile at Naruto. Naruto in turn chuckled nervously at the odd man and nodded his head.

"On my right we have Anko Mitarashi, one of our village's best interrogators and a good trap expert, though I think you may end up teaching her in that regard," the Sandaime chuckled.

Everyone there laughed at Anko's expense, the woman only pouting at the jab to her skills.

"Nice to meet you Anko-san...er sensei," Naruto said.

"Yea yea whatever gaki," Anko said nonchalantly.

The Sandaime coughed to garner their attention once more.

"And finally we have Kurenai Yuhi, a genjutsu mistress as well as being a more than proficient kunoichi in espionage."

Naruto smiled and nodded at the stoic woman, the beauty only returning the gesture.

"Each day you will send three clones to Kakashi to have them work with him on anything he sees fit. You yourself will be going with Gai to learn a taijutsu to fit your style. Anko and Kurenai have agreed to train you together so you will be sending six clones to them learn from them. If during the course of the day a clone pops you are to send one to fill its place."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" Naruto said.

"I am trusting Naruto-kun to all of you, do not let me or him down. Be as brutal and thorough as need be. Remember I want him to be able to protect not only himself but me as well."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" chorused the assorted jounin.

"Then I will leave you to it," the Kage said before nodding and grinning at his young charge. In a swirl of leaves he was gone.

For a moment no one said or did anything, the jounin staring at Naruto as he did the same. It was hard to tell if each "side" was gauging the other up or if no one just didn't have anything to say at the moment. That all stopped when Naruto grinned a foxy grin and cockily said, "Well bring it on then. Let's see what you guys have got for me!"

Kakashi eye smiled, Anko grinned her own somewhat psychotic grin, Kurenai merely nodded her head, and Gai….

"YOSH! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY IN YOU NARUTO-KUN! LET US FEED THEIR FLAMES BY RUNNING FIVE LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE!"

_The next months are going to be….interesting_, Naruto thought.

* * *

The blonde jinchuuriki's statement was proven correct. The past five months had indeed been interesting, but they had also seen Naruto grow stronger then what he previously would have thought possible.

While he was nowhere near being a walking ninjutsu library like the Sandaime or Kakashi he was more than deadly with his own small arsenal of jutsu. He had mastered both Kawamari and Henge to such a degree that he no longer needed to form their hand seals or even think about performing them. They had become as second nature to him as Blink and Dark Eyes.

He had also learned a few large scale and "flashy" jutsu that Kakashi knew like "Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" and even "Suiton: Daibakufu (Water Release: Great Waterfall)". His chakra nature was, unsurprisingly wind while he also had a minor water affinity. Of course since both Kakashi and Naruto knew who his parents were they were none too surprised by that.

That had been an interesting bonding point for the two. Kakashi had seen Minato like a pseudo father and Kushina like a mother figure. By default this meant Naruto was kind of like a little brother to him and so he had told Naruto stories of his parents when they were relaxing or taking a break from training.

When Naruto hadn't asked Kakashi why he wasn't there for the blonde Kakashi had been curious and brought up the question. Naruto shrugged and stated, "Being in Anbu you probably had more important things to do than worry about some blonde brat."

Kakashi had both been shocked the maturity and saddened by the thinly veiled jadedness that Naruto spoke with.

In an attempt to make some amends for not being there for the Uzumaki when he was younger Kakashi had taught Naruto one of his original jutsu, the Chidori. Unsurprisingly Naruto had learned the jutsu in only two days. Unfortunately he suffered from the techniques one fatal flaw, tunnel vision. His Dark Eyes did not help eliminate this like the Sharingan could as Dark Eyes did not gift him with all seeing perception of the things around him like the Uchiha clan doujutsu did, rather it improved upon what Naruto's own eyes were already capable of.

However after he had learned the technique The Outsider had seen fit to visit him and let it slip once more that should he find the necessary Runes that Naruto could "upgrade" his eyes into the Dark Vision ability and that improved version of Dark Eyes had a solution to his tunnel vision problem.

Nonetheless the jutsu was still useful to him as Naruto wouldn't be using the Raiton jutsu on the open battlefield where its weakness was easily exploitable. Naruto's battles would be taking place in much smaller locations that actually helped to lessen the severity of the jutsu's flaw.

The Rasengan would have been a better jutsu to learn still but seeing as Kakashi was himself unable to actually use the technique as intended, his whole reason for creating the Chidori, he was unable to teach it to Naruto. The blonde wasn't bothered by this and had sought out the Hokage and asked if his parent's had left him anything.

The Hokage had seen fit to inform him of both the house that was now his and the jutsu library that was in the house as well.

Unfortunately since Naruto was still a minor and was not a ninja of the village he could not lay full claim to the house and the title of clan head of both the Uzumaki and Namikaze families. Since Naruto was a ward of the village he would have fallen under the civilian council jurisdiction. However since he was from not one, but two prominent shinobi families and was a jinchuuriki he instead fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Shinobi council and the Hokage. As such he could, with permission, enact certain rights temporarily. One such right was access to the library of jutsu inside the home his mother and father had built.

In that library was the scroll containing the Rasengan and how to learn it. Naruto had mastered the jutsu in one day's time.

Gai had not slouched in his teaching of Naruto either. In fact he had been one of the harder task masters of the group. He had put Naruto through his pacings and further. Both student and sensei knew however that the Goken taijutsu was not for Naruto. So instead they had focused on building up Naruto's speed, flexibility, and stamina. The blonde jinchuuriki was indeed capable of some bone shaking punches if allowed, but his true ace was his speed and stamina. Gai had capitalized on that and taught Naruto a style of taijutsu that was made to either wear the opponent down with highspeed dodging and guerilla warfare tactics, or take out the target in a few short and simple moves.

Both Anko and Kurenai had done what they could as well, Anko eaching the boy the basics of interrogation and had even dipped into some of the torture aspects of that field. Naruto however wasn't yet mentally strong enough to stomach that are of shinobi life so that had been put off to a later date. Instead Anko taught him various tricks he could use to mess with someone's mind and even how to pick up on when someone was lying to him.

Kurenai had tried to teach him the basics of genjutsu, but Naruto's massive reserves would not allow him to learn anything that wasn't damn near a reality altering genjutsu and even then they could be easily broken. This due to not only to the size of his reserves but the very nature of his chakra. Uzumuaki chakra combined with Bijuu chakra was just not subtle enough to properly pull of genjutsu. Instead the Genjutsu Mistress taught Naruto several methods to break out of even some of her stronger illusions.

When that had been done she then helped Naruto in the field of espionage. Naruto was already amazing at stealth, even being able to hide from her and Kakashi, which dumbfounded them considering the massive amount of chakra the boy had. Nonetheless she taught him how to put that stealth to use and how to gleam information from even the vaguest of clues. Combined with Anko's teaching of how to tell a lie from the truth Naruto had become spy through and through.

* * *

So at the age of ten Naruto was put to the test. The Hokage and his sensei's had designed the perfect testing ground for Naruto. He was given two simulations to pass. The first involved the Hokage (a Kage Bunshin acting as a stand in) coming under attack while in his office and then again in the open streets of the village. In both cases Naruto was able to easily get the Hokage to a safe place or help him prepare to combat the threat by neutralizing the offenders quickly and quietly.

He was then tested in two different combat situations. He was given a target (another Kage Bunshin) and told to eliminate it without giving away that he had even been there in the first place. To all their surprise Naruto was in and out in under five minutes, bypassing several security seals and guard patrols, not once even alerting said guards.

The second situation was like the first in that he was given a target to eliminate however the ante was upped. He was to be theoretically caught and forced to first finish his mission and then escape. Naruto once more performed spectacularly showing that while he would have some trouble putting his knowledge of open combat to use he was still more than capable of defending himself against several chunin class bunshin.

Obviously this was all far from a realistic situation as the threat of life or death was something that could not be experienced outside of actual missions and taking the life of a clone was nowhere close to taking the life of an actual person.

However the jounin and Kage all knew that Naruto would overcome those obstacles and with time would gain the experience he needed to turn him into the perfect assassin.

* * *

So it was that we find Naruto Uzumaki kneeling before the Hokage garbed in a set of clothes tailored specifically for Naruto and his new position. An all black coat with gray linings around the cuffs of the sleeves, hood, and bottom that reached to Naruto's ankles was closed by brown leather straps that criss-crossed his chest. The straps revealed what appeared to be a dark gray vest underneath. He wore fitting black Anbu pants that were tucked into ankle high brown boots.

All in all Naruto cut quite the imposing figure.

"I Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, officially name Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze as both my guard and my right hand. From hence forth none shall know of you or your position. You will protect me and this village from the shadows. You will be the Konoha no Kage (Shadow of Konoha). Do you accept your new position and title Naruto Uzumkai-Namikaze?"

Naruto looked up at the Hokage, steely blue eyes staring into the Hokage's own. He then crossed his left hand across his chest, his hand clenched into a fist and facing outwards to show off the mark of The Outsider which began to glow a bright white.

"I Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze hereby pledge myself to the title of Hokage and those who hold it. I will give my life it means the safety of my Kage and my village. On my honor as a denizen of this village I swear this."

"Then stand my sword and shield and take this mask and with it mark the beginning of your new life."

Here the Hokage handed Naruto an intricately designed mask that looked far more advanced than anything Anbu could get their hands on. The mask was a steel gray color, being made of steel itself, with streaks of a blood red color dotting it here and there. The mouth of the mask was shaped into a rather intimidating looking grin with thin rods of metal criss-crossing from the bottom of the open mouth to the top. The eye holes were what looked to be some sort of reinforced glass of some type, chakra treated glass if Naruto had to guess. That meant he could send chakra to the eyes of the mask which would allow him to "zoom in" on things like a pair of binoculars. Atop the mask was a pair of fox ears of the same steel gray color. The inside of the "ears" was painted a deep crimson.

The inside of the mask was padded with a cushioning of a soft cotton material of some sort that would allow the mask to be worn for great lengths of time if need be. (1)

Without a thought Naruto grabbed the mask and placed it on his face, it molding to his face through the use of various seals so that it wouldn't come off unless he used chakra to do so. He then turned around and stood, facing his teachers.

Kakashi whistled at the imposing figure the ten year old made. Gai gave a thumbs up. Anko grinned at the intimidating figure and Kurenai had to resist the urge to shiver at the frightening thing that stood before her.

With the hood of his coat up and covering his bright blonde tresses and the mask hiding who he was Naruto had ceased to exist. In his place was the Hokage's personal guard and assassin.

The Royal Guard of the Hokage had been born at that moment.

* * *

(1) Yes Naruto's mask is based off of Corvo's. Constants and variables (yes that's a Bioshock Infinite reference). Having my friend draw the picture for it so you'll have an actual visual of it soon-ish.

**AN: **And thar be the second chapter of Dance with the Devil! If you guys are wondering about the title it's a reference to one of my favorite Breaking Benjamin songs.

And finally it has all come to fruition. Naruto is now officially the old man's right hand.

Some may ask about the vague references of time and for those of you who are sticklers for that kind of stuff; in total a year and half passed that Naruto spent training. First year with the Kage to get the basics down and five months with the other jounin to learn other things.

Where does Naruto stand now? Hmm well you'll have to wait and see! MUAHAHAHA.

Seriously though you will, but fret not Naruto is not now on the level of Pein or anything, far from it. Hell he's not exactly on Anko's level just yet.

Does he have a lot of KNOWLEDGE? Yes. Talent? Undeniably. Skill? Ehhh sorta. Power is a mix of knowledge, talent, skill, and experience. Naruto currently lacks experience and therefore is not that skilled. He has a lot of theoretical knowledge and a considerable amount of skill due to his own innate talent and drive to work that puts him above the average bar.

Thank you for the twenty reviews on the first chapter! Means a lot you guys it really does.

Review, pm me, spread the word and all that!

Remember the pairing has yet to be full decided so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Choices are!: Tayuya, Yakumo, Ino, and Yugao. If I get a convincing enough argument I am willing to choose someone that is not on this list though.

Right off the bat though I will say no to Hinata and Sakura (see my list of pairings I refuse to do).

Peace out peoples!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** The response to this fic has been great and for that I thank you! I do apologize for the wait for this chapter as I was a little more focused on writing the next two chapters for 'DADN?' and considering both chapters are clocking in around the 7,000 word count well you can see why there was a wait. Nonetheless this fic is really fun to write which is something that makes me just want to hash out the next five chapters and release em in one day….which I won't be doing haha.

BIG NOTE: I've received many reviews and pms concerning the name of Naruto's position (Royal Guard) and though some were less than eloquent in what they were trying to point out there were a fair amount of well founded arguments against it. As such I WILL be changing the name of the position.

I will be going back to change the name in the previous two chapters as well. To be quite frank I wasn't really a fan of the title either and was just something of a place holder. The title wasn't going to pop up more than a few times as I was going to be using the secondary title of Konoha no Kage (Shadow of Konoha) more.

To be clear the title is now being switched to Hokage no Usoku which I THINK translates to Right Hand of the Fire Shadow. To keep from having to type that all out the shortened title will simply be Usoku (Right Hand).

If this still doesn't satisfy you guys and you think you got a better/cooler sounding title then go ahead and review or pm me with those ideas. If I like it then it will be picked.

Pairing. I've narrowed down the candidates to: Tayuya, Yakumo, Shizuka, Fuu, and Yugito. A poll will be posted on my profile so you can all go ahead and vote who you want to be the pairing for this story and yes that means there will be only ONE pairing. No harem.

Other reviews: No Naruto's parents are not alive, yes Naruto will be receiving some of Corvo's weapons (be patient I have plans), yes Naruto will learn Fuinjutsu and incorporate it at some point, and to spice up the plot two more Naruto characters will indeed be getting the Outsider's Mark. Who are they? You'll have to wait and see!

Story time!

* * *

"I have a mission for you Usoku," the Sandaime said to the bowing figure before him.

It had been quite a few months since Naruto had officially taken on the title of Usoku and in those months he had managed to accomplish a handful of missions that the Hokage had personally assigned to him. Two of said missions had been the assassinations of two of Konoha's own Civilian Council members. The two had been found stealing funds from the Village as well as running a prostitution ring in the neighboring town of Tanzaku.

Once the Hokage had gotten the ok from Hi no Kuni's Daimyo he had sent Naruto out to take care of them.

The next morning their bodies were found with slashed throats, their guards either incapacitated or dead, and their safes ransacked. With said bodies were several photos and documents detailing just exactly what they had been doing behind the Hokage's back.

When the rest of the Civilian council demanded that the killer be found and brought to justice the Hokage merely tossed the mission scroll he had given to Naruto on the table. When all the council had read it the civilians became worried and the Shinobi Council only smirked. The icing on the cake had been the Hokage calling out Naruto, garbed in what was now his full mission gear, mask and all.

Everyone of course knew that the Hokage had a small team of Anbu guarding him at all times, but all were shocked when the Anbu commander questioned just who the masked individual was, commenting that he had never seen that mask or this person in his division.

With a smirk the Hokage filled everyone in on his newest guard. Telling all that he had in fact personally hand-picked and trained the figure before them all. Several high ranking and powerful Jounin had also assisted him in the training of said masked individual. He then went on to inform everyone that this person was not a part of the shinobi ranks nor was he even on the village census. For all intents and purposes this figure did not exist.

To top it off he only obeyed the Hokage himself and would only take missions directly assigned to him by the Kage. This figure was the Hokage no Usuko (Right Hand of the Fire Shadow) and was the one responsible for the deaths of the two council members and had done so on his orders.

What many did not notice was a smirking Danzo as he watched all of it play out.

_So Hiruzen it seems that you and I are alike in more ways than either of us thought. Though I admit taking my Ne Anbu idea and making it your own was something I would have never expected of you._

That maneuver had successfully cowed the Civilian Council members and had given back some of the power the Kage had lost in recent years due to the machinations of the Civilians.

Naruto had then been sent on three other missions for the Hokage; yet another assassination mission of some dirty politician in the Daimyo's court, the rescuing of another politician's daughter, and his last had been to accompany the Hokage on some treaty talks with their ally Suna.

Now here he was getting another mission from his Kage.

"A man by the name of Gato has successfully managed to put Nami no Kuni in his pocket and is slowly draining it and its population dry. The man is a twisted foul man who owns the famous Gato Corporation which he uses to cover up his less than legal activities. If we can free Nami of his grip they may be grateful enough to want to talk an alliance," The Hokage said said while taking puffs of his pipe.

"And what of his safes and other valuables?"

"Take a third of it for us as mission pay. The rest along with business documents are to be given to the village as a gift of sorts. Anything shinobi related however is to of course come back to us. Now go."

"Hai Hokage-sama."

In a ruffle of clothes Naruto was gone, mask and cloak in place.

The Hokage turned his chair to face he window of his office, and still smoking his pipe asked aloud, "And what can I do for you Danzo?"

From the shadows emerged a heavily bandaged man who looked to be just as old as the Hokage.

"Nothing. I was just…observing you and your new little pet in action. It has been awhile since I've seen you so…active in worldly affairs," Danzo said all the while a smirk remained on his face.

"Yes it has. I simply saw the flaws in my way of thinking and wish to correct some mistakes in my old age," Hiruzen spoke unperturbed by the thinly veiled jabs at his character.

Danzo chuckled ruefully at that statement.

"You and I both know that there's nothing we can do to cleanse our hands of the blood that stains it. It is too late for us."

Danzo turned and begin to make his way out of the office before he stopped, his hand on the door handle, "By the way you've done a fine job of training the Jinchuuriki. I do wonder where he got those odd powers from though."

As the old warhawk left the room Hiruzen began to unclench his hands, loosening the grip that had begun to grip his chair so tightly that the wood underneath the leather and padding had begun to crack and splinter.

"I can still try Danzo. I can still damn well try," the elderly Kage whispered under his breath.

* * *

As Naruto crossed the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves, entering the latter, he instantly took note of the difference in weather. Where Hi no Kuni was usually always warm and sunny the opposite was true for Nami, though that was probably due to the country's proximity to both the ocean and Mizu no Kuni.

However before Naruto could continue his trek into the misty country he felt a tugging that he hadn't felt for a few months, not since his first kills back in Konoha. Normally many would question what this tugging was or what it wanted to tell them, but Naruto knew exactly what the sensation was telling him.

As such the blonde came to stop and leapt to the ground and waited patiently. Sure enough only a few seconds later a familiar shroud of black mist began to form from nowhere, and not long after a familiar black eyed being appeared amidst the inky blackness.

"Interesting how even with so many things changed you still end up here. Even more interesting is both this place's once great history and the secrets that now lay buried thousands of feet below it. What will you find here? I wonder…"

And with his peace said The Outsider returned to The Void.

_Why do all the people who know so much like to talk in vague riddles? The Sandaime does it and so does the Outsider. Do they enjoy messing with people that much?_ Naruto thought as he huffed at the Outsider's 'hints'.

_I think they just like messing with me more specifically,_ he continued.

With a shrug Naruto was off once more, nothing but a blurred shadow to any who would come upon him.

However he still pondered on what exactly The Outsider had said. What was so special about Nami no Kuni? Sure it had once been a pretty wealthy port town and trading outpost, but that had been about as much as there was to it. The only other significant thing to speak of it was its proximity to not only Kirigakure and Konohagakure, but also his mother's ancestral home, Uzugakure.

Maybe that had been what The Outsider had been talking about. After all with as difficult as it was to even get near Uzu due to the whirlpools that gave the village its name he doubted that many had attempted to dig up the ruins for whatever goods were still hidden. On top of that he doubted that a clan of Fuinjutsu masters would just leave their stuff laying around for the picking which meant only an Uzumaki could get to the more interesting items the village kept.

With that thought in mind Naruto resolved to make a trip to Uzugakure and see if there was anything there that he could either use or keep as a reminder of his mother's clan.

* * *

Under the guise of a Henge that made him look like any of the villagers Naruto wandered the streets and had to hold in the urge to go grab Gato and bring him kicking and screaming into the village where he could kill the bastard and help these people out. It sickened him to see so many people in nothing but rags, children with emaciated figures due to them not having eaten in so long, and people holding the corpses of dead loved ones.

Had the people looked a bit better Naruto would have been angry at the villagers for not taking their fate into their own hands and killing Gato themselves but from the looks of it none of the villagers looked like they had enough energy to even breathe let alone start a rebellion against the business tycoon.

Besides who was he to judge these people and their decisions? He had been lucky and been gifted by The Outsider with his mark and was given the tools to take back his life and make something of it. That mission was only further helped when the Sandaime took him under his wing and personally trained him and welcomed him into the Sarutobi clan home.

These people literally had nothing. He would say they had family, but even then that was a maybe if the groups of wandering and parentless children was anything to go on. The sight of so much suffering ignited a flame in Naruto, a flame that not only burned with hatred for Gato, but also burned with the want to help the people out by any means necessary.

When Naruto saw a group of Gato's hired muscle begin to harass a woman and her two children, one still a toddler, Naruto saw an opportunity to both accomplish his mission as well as bring back something that these poor people had lost – hope.

In blur of speed Naruto both dropped the Henge and appeared behind the group of thugs, a kunai buried in the skull of one thug with a senbon lodged in another's neck.

The sound of two bodies hitting the floor drew the attention of not only the other mercenaries but the other civilians on that same street. Before anyone could even blink Naruto was on the other merc, slashing the poor bastard's throat open with a slash of a kunai, the ensuing spurts of blood painting a nearby wall crimson.

Before the last member of the group of thugs could do much else but open his mouth in shock he found a hand wrapped his throat with the point of a senbon aimed at his eyeball. The man looked down to see something that would forever haunt his nightmares, a metal mask with flecks of bloody carmine coloring the otherwise silver item. What sent a chill down his spine was the grin the mask bore, the foxy features only serving to make the grin that much more terrifying.

"W-w-what the fuck are you!?" sputtered the horrified man.

Not even bothering to acknowledge the question Naruto spoke, the mask muffling his voice and serving to give it a bone-chilling quality, "Where is Gato?"

"I ain't-!" was as far as the man was able to get before his sentence was interrupted by a senbon needling piercing through one cheek and then sliding through the other.

Naruto violently removed the needle without a care and, ignoring both the eyes on him and the man's cries of pain, spoke, "Gato. Where is he."

"He-he's got a compound on the outskirts of the south end of this town. Keep going straight out of the south entrance you can't miss it. Now please just let me go! I swear I'll leave town!" The man pleaded.

Naruto turned his head briefly and observed the looks of the villagers and saw not fear of him or the thug, not even pity for the man, no he saw righteous anger and gratitude that someone had taken a stand for them. He then looked at the mother and children who had been the ones the thug and his little gang had been harassing and saw a look of awe on the older child's face. Hope and gratitude shined in the brown eyes of the single mother as she gazed at the otherwise frightening figure that was Naruto.

Taking all this in Naruto made his decision and turned his gaze back on the man that he still held in his grip.

Naruto muttered a barely heard, "No," before he stabbed the kunai straight through the man's skull, killing him almost instantly. A minor Katon jutsu later and the corpses of the men were naught but ashes to be spread by the wind.

The single mother walked up to Naruto, toddler in her arms, as he begun to walk away and grabbed at his sleeve to get his attention. Naruto turned to acknowledge the gesture and was slightly surprised when the woman bowed her head to him, "Ar-arigatou stranger. You saved both me and my children and for that I thank you. I…I have nothing to give you but my gratitude."

Underneath the mask Naruto smiled a small smile, "Think nothing of it. Now I have some…business with Gato."

With not a word more Naruto was gone, speeding off towards where Gato's base was located.

* * *

As Naruto raced through the tree tops on his way to Gato's compound he began to feel another tugging sensation, but this one wasn't nearly as strong as the one The Outsider used to draw his attention. Instead it felt like a calling, in fact he could hear faint whisperings coming from somewhere in the forest, almost like a beautifully haunting yet inaudible song that drew him in.

With how similar whatever was calling him felt to The Outsider Naruto decided to make a quick detour in the direction of where he heard the "song" coming from which conveniently only had him veering slightly off course from his original destination.

Naruto slowed his previous pace down and with nary a thought called forth his Dark Eyes ability, already accustomed to the mumbled whisper of "Paradise" (1) that accompanied it, and began to comb over the forest, keeping an eye out for whatever it was that was calling him. Much to his surprise though something odd caught his eye as the whispering grew even louder and with curious eyes Naruto gazed at a rather small home that looked to have seen better days situated amidst the forest in the middle of a clearing.

Normally Naruto would have called it a day there, but the whispering was now even louder and the tugging had gotten even stronger now that he was so close to this dilapidated building. What surprised him though was seeing someone, an elderly looking woman, come out of the rotted door to the building.

Looking at the elderly woman Naruto had to wonder just how old she was. She seemed so frail that Naruto feared if he even poked her she would crumble to dust. Her hair had grayed so much that it was now a pure white that she kept in a ponytail that reached the base of her neck. Her clothing looked to have been a rather nice looking gown…at some point. Now it was covered in stains and had holes in it that showed hints of her wrinkled skin. Her face was sunken in and had a pair of dark brown eyes that seemed to scream wisdom and age in it.

What shocked him was when the woman looked straight at him and smiled, "And who might you be dearie? I usually don't get too many visitors these days."

Knowing that hiding was useless Naruto leapt out of the tree and landed several feet away from the woman who just kept smiling at him. The blonde assassin bowed, "I apologize if I disturbed you mam."

The woman only smiled, "Oh no trouble at all dearie. Now why don't you come inside and I can make us some tea. We have much to discuss."

Naruto's eyes darted to the direction of Gato's compound, "I'm sorry but I really must be going."

"Well that just won't do. Won't you please indulge an old woman with a cup of tea? It has been so long since I've had any sort of company."

Naruto sweatdropped as he realized that the old woman was trying to guilt him into staying and damn if it wasn't working.

_Damn my kind nature!_

"Well alright, only for a bit though as I do have a job to attend to," the blonde conceded.

The elderly woman smiled again and led Naruto through the door and walked him into a surprisingly well kept den. It had definitely seen better days but looked generally well kept in contrast to the outside. Pictures and various knick knacks were scattered here and there throughout the home and added to the general warmth and welcoming feel that the place offered. A bookshelf on a wall held dozens upon dozens of books with strange titles like "Harpooner Songs", "The Isle of Tyvia", and "Mysteries of Pandysia" (2).

Various paintings hung on the walls of the room but one in particular caught his attention. It was of three people; a man with shaggy brown hair that was parted to either side who wore a coat not unlike Naruto's own excepting that the man's was of a grey color and covered the black and gold vest he wore underneath. The woman next to him was a beauty no doubt about it. She had her hair pulled into a complex bun of sorts and wore black clothing befitting that of royalty. Wrapped in her arms was a small girl who wore a big grin on her face and had an eerie resemblance to the two adults of the picture.

The elderly woman saw Naruto looking rather intently at the painting and chuckled, "Interesting how that particular painting caught your eye young man."

She walked up next to Naruto and began admiring the piece of art as well.

"They were my family's ancestors. The child's name was Emily Kaldwin, her mother's was Elizabeth Kaldwin, and the man was Corvo Attano; Emily and Elizabeth's personal guard as well as father and secret lover. They had to keep it secret with Elizabeth being the Queen at the time. Sad how it all ended for them though."

"Wait Queen? Where was she Queen of?" Naruto questioned curiously. He knew that there very few queens left in the world with only the royalty of Roran coming to mind.

"She was queen to a place long since lost to the world, sunk beneath the waves and buried under time like the civilization before it. She, and later her daughter Emily, ruled over the metropolis of Dunwall."

_Dunwall? Why does that name sound familiar? If it really has been forgotten by everyone why do I feel like I know that name?_

"Come now dearie, the tea is done and we do still have to talk."

Naruto nodded, still distracted by his thoughts. Unbeknownst to him a certain Kitsune mused to itself as well,** "Interesting. So the Kaldwin/Attano line still lives to this day. Though with this woman being the last of them the line will die with her no doubt."**

Without another thought the great beast returned to its slumber.

As the two sat at the table the elderly woman smiled before she asked, "May I see it?"

Naruto confusedly asked, "I'm sorry?"

The woman only continued, "The mark that The Outsider gave to you."

Naruto sat in stunned silence. How did this woman know anything about The Outsider? The being had stated that all who knew his name had long since died out, long before the Rikudou had ever come along. How was it possible that this frail old woman knew of such long forgotten being? That she knew he had the mark was even more shocking.

"You're wondering how I know of such a thing correct? Well you see the man in the painting, Corvo, was also visited by The Outsider and given his mark during a very tumultuous time in Dunwall. With that mark, the powers it gifted him, and his own skill as an assassin and warrior Corvo singlehandedly put down two rebellions, placed his daughter back on the throne and brought peace to the chaotic times of Dunwall, all in only a month."

The woman continued on, "On his deathbed Corvo revealed to the now grown Emily all that he had done to keep her safe and how he was able to do things no human should be capable of; how he could seemingly vanish from one spot and appear in another, how he could move faster than anybody for a short period of time, why the rats that bore the plague were his allies. He told her of his many talks with the being known as The Outsider and what the man had given him."

"But…how do you know I bare the mark?" Naruto questioned.

The woman only smiled a knowing smile, "Because my family has passed on the knowledge of such things. The power of the mark is not something so easily dismissed. Also the few Runes that we have kept for ages stirred when you neared this place, something they haven't done since the time of Corvo."

Naruto took a minute to think before he took off his mask and shook out his hair to spike the matted blonde hair, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

The woman stuck out her hand and said, "And I am Roselyn Kaldwin. Nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto shook the offered hand gently so as not to test just how frail she really was and at the same time showed her the black mark that he had now become so accustomed to seeing.

The elderly woman traced her fingertip over the raised lines of the mark and smiled at the sight of something she had only seen in dated pictures and heard about from her own mother who had kept the tradition of the Kaldwin line as strong as generations past had done.

Roselyn gestured towards the mask that lay on the table, "May I?"

Naruto nodded his ascent and saw Roselyn gently take the mask in her hands and observe it. For a few minutes the last Kaldwin member seemed to be lost in her own little world, caressing the mask gently and simply looking it over before she spoke, "Funny that not only are you an assassin, but that you also you have this mask."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.

Roselyn offered him that same knowing smile before she placed his mask on the table and rose to her feet before she exited the room. A few minutes later she was back carrying a metallic box with a lock on its front.

Placing the box on the table she pulled out a key from one of her gown's remaining pockets and slid it into the lock. With a simple click the lock came unhinged and Roselyn gently took out its contents.

In her hands was a rather beaten looking metal mask that looked eerily similar to Naruto's own, except this mask looked more like a human's skull rather than the fox skull that was Naruto's. It also didn't have the bloody streaks on it. Oddly enough the right eye of the mask bore what looked to be some telescopic glass, another similarity.

"This was the mask Corvo donned when he first set out to save Emily and bring peace back to Dunwall. It soon became a symbol of fear to those who had dared wrong not only him, but his family. At the same time it was also a symbol of hope for young Emily and those who wished to see her back on the throne and peace restored. The mask was crafted by an ingenious inventor by the name of Pierro Joplin who also crafted several other useful tools for Corvo."

Here Roselyn gently placed the mask on the table before once more reaching into the box to pull out yet another item. This time it seemed to be a sword handle of some sort, though there was no visible blade for it. The handle itself was rusty and worn from both its use and age.

To Naruto's surprise the elderly woman displayed a shocking amount of dexterity and hand eye coordination as she twirled the item in her hand before a shining blade sprung out from the center of the handle. While said handle looked worn, the blade itself looked to be brand new and made of some extremely durable materials.

Even Naruto who had a basic knowledge of swords could see that this blade was a work of a master craftsman.

"This was the weapon Pierro made specifically for Corvo. The blade folds and can remain hidden in the handle until the time it is needed to do its job. Sadly these are the only two weapons that remain. Corvo's crossbow and gun were lost only a few decades after Emily's death," Roselyn said, shaking her head.

Naruto looked at Roselyn, silently asking for her permission to handle the artifacts, and was given said permission. The blonde was surprised at how well built and similar Corvo's mask was to his. Obviously thanks to the seals and chakra conductive metals in his mask he didn't need the telescopic eye that Corvo's had or the hooks and such that would lock the thing onto the wearer's face.

Taking the sword in hand Naruto truly eyed the item and saw where the switch to release the blade was, also noting the amount of skill one would have to have to not only twirl it like Roselyn had but at the same time hit the switch to release the blade and have it battle ready. It was also small and light enough to be perfect for quiet assassinations but long and durable enough to be fit for some open combat use as well. It was truly a perfectly balanced blade and it just felt right it have it in his hands.

Naruto was shocked out of his reverie when Roselyn spoke out, "Take them."

Wide eyed Naruto gazed up at the smiling woman with questions burning in his eyes, the predominant one being, "Why?"

"I can feel it. Just like Corvo you too will play an instrumental role in the future and it seems only fitting that the blade that changed Dunwall's fate will do so again in the hands of yet another assassin and bearer of The Outsider's mark. Take it and the mask and use them to strike fear into the hearts of evil and bring hope to those who have need of it. I may be the last of the Kaldwins but you Naruto Uzumaki will be an assassin with no equal, you will carry on the will and name of the greatest assassin and warrior to ever live, Corvo Attano. Do you accept?"

Naruto hesitated for the briefest of seconds before he felt as if the mask and blade were calling to him, begging to be used once more, to see combat and help their user like they had done so many millennia ago.

With a renewed passion in his eye Naruto stood and bowed on one knee before Roselyn and spoke in a firm voice, "I Naruto Uzumaki accept this request and will do my utmost to stay true to the will of the Kaldwins and Attanos."

Without either of the two's knowledge Kyuubi had once more stirred from its slumber and was silently observing what was happening on the outside with grin that made it seem even more terrifying than it already was.

"**You really are so very interesting Naruto Uzumaki!"**

"As the last of the Kalwdin line I proclaim you as Naruto Attano Uzumaki."

With a straight face Naruto grabbed Corvo's mask and placed it on his face, however something happened that neither had expected. The mask instantly became coated in a thin layer of burning orange chakra and as fast as it had come it was gone, leaving a sight that brought a grin to Roselyn's face.

Where once sat a broken, dented, and rusted old relic was now a renewed symbol. The metal shined a dark black with the previously golden linings now a dull ruby red color to contrast the black. The mouth of the mask had shifted and taken on the grinning visage of madness, which was only enhanced by the vulpine features now present. Unlike Naruto's mask though there were no fox ears, instead the eyes had slanted to give the mask the look of a madly grinning kitsune.

Roselyn brought a mirror to Naruto and showed him the now revitalized mask and all he could do was grin and shake his head.

_Guess the Kyuubi wanted in on some of the action as well._

She then presented him with Corvo's folding blade which, like the mask, was consumed in a fiery torrent of vibrant orange chakra. Once it was gone the two gazed in appreciation at the polished metallic shine of the handle and its blade. On an instinct Naruto channeled chakra through the blade and was surprised to see flames coat the sword.

_I guess I kinda owe that fuzzball for such nice gifts! _Naruto chuckled.

"Now take these as well, you'll need them," the old woman said as she handed Naruto two odd looking thin bone plates with the mark of The Outsider carved into them. Along with them she also handed him what looked to be a fan's blade made of the same type of bone with several odd markings on them.

"The two plates are Runes that you can use to 'upgrade' your powers and that little one is a Bone Charm called Acrobat. I don't know how they work exactly as neither did Corvo or their creators but Acrobat will increase your overall dexterity beyond even what most shinobi are capable of. As for the Runes…again I don't know. That knowledge was lost as only someone with the mark of the Outsider could use the Runes."

As soon as Naruto touched the Bone Charm he could feel something akin to the power of chakra, except much darker, rush through his body before a sense of lightness overcame him.

_It feels like I've lost a couple dozen pounds…..THIS IS SO COOL 'TEBAYO!_

Naruto then clipped the small Charm to one of the many leather straps that kept his cloak closed and then took the Runes in hand. As opposed to the immediate rush Naruto felt with the Charm it seemed that the Runes were holding in their power, waiting for him to decide where that power should go.

On a hunch Naruto called on his Dark Eyes power and was mildly surprised when the Runes reacted and a rush of that same dark power flowed to his eyes. The once dimly lit orange and yellow world that the Dark Eyes used became slightly brighter while several things became instantly highlighted, the Runes and Bone Charms specifically. Roselyn also began to glow a dim yellow while light seemed to be coming from her eyes and her ruffling gown caused small waves. Surprisingly enough Naruto could also see through the walls of the house and saw the dim glow of the small critters flitting to and fro in the forest around them.

A simple phrase came to his lips, "Dark Vision."

Roselyn only smiled once more.

"Now go and clean this place up, Gato deserves everything you will bring him."

Naruto nodded and began to walk out of the house, Roselyn following him slowly.

Reaching the doorway and before Naruto could leap off into the tree tops to resume his mission Roselyn grabbed his shoulder, garnering his attention.

"Remember, 'Order shall prevail…but Revenge solves everything.'"

With a nod, mask firmly on his face, folding blade hidden in his coat, Bone Charm proudly displayed, and his new Dark Vision on, Naruto leapt into the trees naught but a blur of greys and blacks.

Roselyn smiled a small smile as she watched him go and turned to walk back into her home.

"Naruto Uzumaki….Corvo would be proud….right Mr. Outsider?"

"Yes he would. Now I'm afraid our deal is up….Emily Kaldwin. Time to join me and your father in The Void."

"Thank you…for letting me do that Outsider."

"Despite what you may think I did not do it for you or Corvo. I did it solely to see how young Naruto would react and I am pleased to say his reaction to your gifts was….superb. With those items in hand things have become even more intriguing. I can not wait to see how you uses that blade and the new powers available to him."

Offering an outstretched hand the The Outsider grinned, "Milady."

The now revealed Emily only smiled that grin of hers, "Let us be going then."

Taking the hand of the Outsider Emily was wrapped in a shroud of inky blackness and as the shroud disappeared so too did they, back to the place where all things began and where all things went to meet their inevitable end.

* * *

**(1**) It is probably one of the most debated topics in Dishonored, but I think that when Corvo uses Dark Eyes the whisper says "Paradise". I could be totally wrong but nobody has been able to figure what it says for sure so who knows.

**(2) **These are all actual books you can find scattered throughout the rather large world of Dishonored

**AN: **And there it is! How did you guys like that last little bit? For those of you who don't know or didn't get it, yes that was THE Emily from the game Dishonored. She was given permission to see to it that Corvo's will and such were passed down to someone who would make good use of them and who better than the latest bearer of the Outsider's Mark?

And yes, Naruto now has Corvo's mask and sword! Also yes I hinted at what happened to Dunwall. In the game it was said that Dunwall was actually built atop the ruins of another civilization that had fallen decades before it. Seemed fitting to continue the trend and have Nami be the location of Dunwall's final resting place (with both being dependant on harbor and trade).

I was debating on extending this chapter a little more to include Naruto's take down of Gato and his men but I think ending it with that whole bit at the end was a good enough point.

I do apologize if this story is rather slow to update as 'DADN?' seems to be my crowning achievement thus far and with Kyram joining me in that effort that fic takes a little more precedence than this, BUT I'm loving writing this fic because of how different it is from anything I've written thus far, which admittedly isn't much.

On one last note….WHY ARE THERE NOT ANY Samurai Champloo and Naruto CROSSOVERS!? I've seen quite a few Ruroni Kenshin crossovers (none that were finished or even went past the like third or fourth chapter at most) but there is actually only ONE Samurai Champloo crossover and it has Sakura as a protagonist (ewww).

Hmmm maybe I should write my own? Something to think about.

Welp you guys know the drill!

Review, pm, and share!

Would you kindly? (For those Bioshock fans….oooo I should do a Bioshock Naruto crossover! Hmmm)

Before I continue my rantings

PEACE!


End file.
